


A fresh breeze

by Nichtigkeit_4



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:47:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28101150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nichtigkeit_4/pseuds/Nichtigkeit_4
Summary: Twenty years after Voldemort's destruction, everything had changed for the better. Albus Potter, Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy are already in the third year and live through the everyday madness of school. But on a windy day, Albus discovers something that catches his entire attention. And he is willing to find out what it is all about. A little adventure of the new generation, but still connected to the old. [HP/DM - sort of]
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	1. The whipping willow

**Author's Note:**

> All my stories have been translated from German to English. Since English is not my native language, translation errors may occur. But I hope that they are not too serious. If you notice any, feel free to tell me.
> 
> Have fun!

The wind was blowing strongly that day and the clouds were brewing into a massive thunderstorm. It was just after school and all the students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry rushed out of their classrooms.

"Come on, Rose! We still have some of our free time left! So don't dawdle!" shouted a third-year student, who was laughing as he ran down the hallway to get out of the castle as quickly as possible and breathe the fresh wind into his lungs.

"I'm just not as fast as you, Albus!" the young girl with the striking Weasley red hair reprimanded him. She propped her hands on her knees, panting, and tried to catch her breath properly again. She had to admit to herself, sports wasn't really her thing. The brain stuff suited her a lot better.

"Oh come on, you're at least as keen to try out the Patronus!" shouted Albus and ran on towards the forbidden forest. A moment ago they had Defense Against the Dark Arts and their teacher was teaching them the Patronus spell, only in theory, of course. The practice would be some time coming, which didn't mean that the students couldn't try it out anyway. After all, nothing was forbidden to them.

"Albus!" was all Rose could say in reply. And she knew it would do no good to waste her breath screaming any longer. Albus was very knowledgeable about Defense Against the Dark Arts. Like his father, he was -of course with Rose- one of the best in their class. It was his thing, and no one could fool him. Of course, it also meant that Albus had to try out every new spell he learned. And this time, Albus had chosen the whipping willow as his training ground. It was located at the edge of the forbidden forest and thus far enough away from the castle to be undisturbed.

When they finally arrived, Albus was also completely out of breath but still full of vigor. Sometimes Rose wondered about how willingly Albus crammed for this subject and totally let others slide - like Potions, for example.

"Okay, let's get started," Albus said when he had finally caught his breath and Rose had also found her seat next to him. Albus picked out his notes from the last lesson. They were probably his only notes he had. Unlike Rose, he didn't write down every single word from class.

Albus read through the notes again briefly and then positioned himself. He pulled out his wand and aimed it at the whipping willow, just in case. After all, he knew all too well that no matter how harmless a spell seemed, it could cause enormous damage with incorrect use. Anticipation flooded the boy's small body and his hand almost began to tremble, which he was still able to suppress. He closed his eyes and thought.

'A happy memory,' Albus thought. But what was a happy memory? Which one could possibly be strong enough for that?

Highly concentrated, Albus just stood there for a moment. And without opening his eyes, his body tensed and he spoke the words that summoned the Patronus.

"Expecto Patronum!" And then happened - nothing. Not even a bluish mist could be seen. Which meant he wasn't even close to summoning a Patronus. He slowly lowered his arm. This was more than disappointing to Albus. He had been so sure, after all. It had been the happiest memory he had. So why hadn't it worked?

"What were you thinking about?" asked Rose as she took a few steps towards him. She had kept a safe distance from him before and watched it all quietly.

"Of the first day at Hogwarts. The moment the talking hat brought me to Gryffindor. But I guess that wasn't enough" - Albus looked at his wand depressedly. Yet he had been so sure that it would work. It was his happiest memory. Especially because he had been so afraid of coming to Slytherin before. But what had he expected? At thirteen, it wasn't easy to already be able to define what the happiest moment was. His life was still far too short for that, and unlike his father's memories when he was his age, Albus' memories seemed insignificant. How could he even expect it to work the first time?

"Maybe you weren't focused enough?", Rose tried to cheer him up and put her hand on his shoulder. Rose decided not to try it herself for now.She couldn't bear to make Albus even more miserable, should she succeed in front of him. She knew how much it meant to Albus. He had heard many stories about the Patronus. Many about how it had saved his father's life one time or another. And now he was totally excited for the form of his own patronus.

"Yeah, maybe," Albus said, not entirely convinced, but then took a quick breath to try again. Just as he raised his wand and aimed it at the whipping willow again, something caught his eye.

"What's that?" asked Albus, probably more to himself, since Rose hadn't been able to understand him through the distance. Albus lowered his wand again and took a few steps in the direction of the object he had just spotted.

"Albus? What's wrong?" asked Rose now, who hadn't quite understood the whole thing yet. But when she didn't get an answer, she looked for the spot her best friend was fixing with his green eyes. And then she saw it too.

"Is that a ribbon?" she asked, tilting her head, her long ponytail bobbing along and falling off her shoulder.

There, tied around the whipping willow was a ribbon. A red and green braided ribbon. And instantly Rose thought of the Gryffindor and Slytherin house colors, matching tone for tone.

That bold red with a hint of orange and that dark green that immediately made you think of the skin of a tree python.

"I'll have to check that out," Albus said already, walking on towards the willow as if pushed by some instinct.

"Albus don't! If you get too close to it, it'll-" Rose was still trying to warn the young Gryffindor, but by then it was too late. A whip of the willow, came crashing toward Albus, flinging him several feet away from it.

"-hitting around," Rose finished her sentence anyway, and ran toward her best friend.

"Did something happen to you?" she asked worriedly, immediately checking him for wounds. But Albus quickly stopped her and took her hands in his. Sometimes Rose really was far too caring.

"Rose, it's all right. I'm just a little nauseous from the impact, but I'm not hurt" - Relieved, Rose exhaled, still kneeling next to her best friend. He was lying on his back, trying to catch his breath. That had been a violent blow, he would have to recover from it first.

But he didn't have time for that. While Albus was staring up at the sky, it began to rain like cats and dogs. With a quick "Let's get out of here," he got up and dragged Rose along with him. If the girl caught a cold here, though, her father would whistle at him for letting that happen as her best friend. Even if Rose didn't need to be protected, because she was quite capable of protecting herself, his father seemed to demand it of him. As a best friend. So let's get out of here.

But no matter how much they hurried, they arrived at the castle completely soaked. There already stood janitor Filch and eyed them scowling, but said nothing.

"That guy still gives me the creeps," Rose whispered to the Gryffindor and climbed the stairs to go to their common room. They walked together into the highest tower at Hogwarts and then stopped in front of a painting. Already out of habit, Albus covered his ears and waited until the password was spoken and the painting swung open to the side. It finally did, revealing the Ravenclaw common room to them. Because nothing else was Rose. Unlike her entire family, she didn't go to Gryffindor. And still she didn't know if that should make her sad, because actually she was very happy in Ravenclaw. She wasn't the nerd here, but a normal girl who just had a very high IQ. And the talking hat had also given her a good talking to back then.

"The war is over and you are just as smart as you are brave, that should be encouraged".

With that, Rose had agreed and had walked over to the Ravenclaw table with a smile. And yes, it was true. She was in no way inferior to Albus when it came to courage, but the war was over. There was no reason for her to go to Gryffindor, and she was very much at home in Ravenclaw. Albus had been sad not to be in the same house with his best friend, but that didn't stop them from spending every free minute together. And luckily, Albus was allowed to stay in the Ravenclaws' common room.

"I think we should dry off and sit by the fireplace first," Rose suggested, already pulling out her wand to dry them both off. Then they walked towards the fireplace where they saw a very familiar person sitting on the big sofa, not to be expected otherwise with a huge tome in his hand.

"Hey Scorpius, what are you reading?" asked Albus, dropping heavily onto the sofa next to the blond.

"Gregor potion. We'll be working on that one in Potions soon," he replied, not looking up from the book. That didn't bother Albus at all, after all, he wasn't used to it from him any other way. Scorpius, as was well known, preferred to hide in Potions books. For reasons unknown to Albus, he had a strong fascination with this subject and read almost every book on it.

It was strange. Albus had always imagined a Malfoy differently, especially after the stories of his uncle Ron, who always spoke badly of the Malfoy family. Which he could somehow understand. Because if what he had told them was true, then Scorpius' grandparents were devious Death Eaters. And his father? Albus was very conflicted about that. Somehow he felt slight disgust when he thought about what this man had done. And at the same time he had listened to his own father telling him how hard Draco Malfoy actually had it. And that such people only become what their parents make them. And Harry Potter had always been of the opinion that Draco Malfoy was basically not a bad person. Thinking back, Albus had never heard his father speak badly of the Malfoys, unlike his Uncle Ron, who liked nothing better than to badmouth that family.

All in all, Scorpius didn't fit the image he previously had of a Malfoy at all. He always thought they were conceited and rich purebloods who thought everyone else was dirt, and of course they all came to Slytherin. That's why it was such a shock to everyone when the talking hat suddenly spoke the word Ravenclaw. The Great Hall had never been dominated by so much silence as it was at that moment. It was clear to everyone that he was a Malfoy, the son of a Death Eater. And that someone like that came to Ravenclaw, of all places, was very- shocking. But the talking hat had reasoned that out as well.

"It is time for changes. We shouldn't hold on to old habits. And you are the perfect first step. You are different from your ancestors."

But despite these words, Scorpius was not really welcome in Ravenclaw. No one planned to talk to him at first, because they all felt that he didn't belong with them. Of course, Scorpius didn't let on that this bothered him. He was an eleven-year-old boy trying to make friends at school. And then suddenly there had been Albus. He had just sat down next to him at dinner and brought Rose right along with him. They had become friends against all expectations. Albus had gotten to know a Malfoy from a different side and had to realize that he wasn't as mean and nasty as everyone thought.

Of course, after some time Albus had asked him if the rumors about his family were true and they were all confirmed to him. Even the fact that his father had been a real pain in the ass when he was at school. But Scorpius also stressed that it was for this very reason that his father had given him a very different upbringing than he had enjoyed. Draco Malfoy was convinced that his son could be a better wizard, a better person than he was.

And that he was more than proud of his son was proven by his reaction to Scorpius' house assignment. While Astoria was furious cursing and saying again and again that they should have sent him to Durmstrang, Draco was silent. All he did was hug his son. Never in his life had Draco been more relieved than at that moment and it showed him that his son was not like him. He was not a bad person.

And now after three years, Scorpius had finally arrived too. Times had changed. He had been able to make a few friends, but nothing beat Albus and Rose. And especially in Rose he had found a great challenge. Beating her in a test was a difficult task, even for Scorpius. He had to admit to himself, Rose was simply unbeatable.

"Oh. Then maybe I should take a look at that one too," Rose reasoned, sitting down next to Albus.

"Don't worry about that one. It' s really nothing special" - "You say that every time, so I won't worry about it and then totally crap out anyway," Albus grumbled at Scorpius' words, which only made the latter grin. But not a normal grin. It was this very special grin that Albus immediately identified as the typical Malfoy grin. It had a hint of arrogance and Albus had to admit to himself, somehow it suited Scorpius, if not this Ravenclaw-blue one did.

"Well, you suck at potions. When I say that, I'm just referring to Rose," the blond was still grinning, running his fingers through his hair, which immediately started to stick out in all directions. But they were just the right length not to make him look unkempt. It even had a really daring touch. Somehow it was really ... slytherin.

One couldn't deny that from time to time the typical Slytherin traits shone through, but that wasn't a bad thing. That was exactly what made Scorpius charm somehow.

"Oh shut up, will you? You don't know anything about Defense Against the Dark Arts for that," Albus snorted, though he wasn't really offended. He knew it was true, after all. It was a wonder he hadn't killed anyone in Potions yet.

"Well, if you say so," was all Scorpius replied. He would be careful not to tell Albus that he had a very good idea about it. After all, he had already managed the Patronus spell, but he would keep that to himself for now. Because the way Albus had entered the common room - without cheers and beaming smiles - he hadn't managed it yet. But the Gryffindor didn't seem to be fooled that easily. For instantly a hard blow hit him in the upper arm.

"You got it," Albus said resignedly, pouting. Still, he couldn't help being curious.

"What is it?" - He just had to ask. It burned his fingers to find out what shape his Patronus would take.

"An eagle" - Scorpius looked into the fireplace and the hot flames reflected in his stormy gray eyes. They danced in his bright vision and disappeared when Scorpius closed his eyes.

The Gryffindor would have been surprised if it had been anything else. Because he knew how important his freedom was to Scorpius. Especially after hearing all those stories about the war. About Azkaban and the things his family had suffered or much more likely done. He promised himself he would never be like that. And what animal would symbolize that better than a powerful and magnificent eagle.

"I envy you" - The Ravenclaw immediately believed Albus, but said nothing more in reply. It remained silent and Scorpius browsed in his book some more, while Albus put his head back in his neck and closed his eyes. Rose was about to look for a book from a shelf to do the same to Scorpius. And there were books in the Ravenclaw common room, more than enough.

And as the minutes ticked by, Albus remembered something he had planned to get to the essence of things.

"Hey Scorpius, did you ever notice that there's a ribbon tied around the whipping willow?" - Albus raised his head again and looked beside him. Scorpius again didn't look up from his book as he answered.

"Yes" - Sometimes the blond was really taciturn.

"I think we should look into it" - "What do you want to look into?" Rose interfered again, who had chosen a book in the meantime and sat down next to Albus again.

"Well, the ribbon around the whipping willow. There's something about it. I know it" - "Typical Albus. And how are you going to get to the willow? It' ll chase you right away, like it did before" - Rose had a serious tone about her, as she always did when Albus was just being silly again. And these were definitely some. Because to expose oneself to such danger for no reason was, after all, insane.

"But somehow it must have gotten there. So there must be a way to calm her down" - "There is a certain root bulb at the whipping willow, if you put pressure on it, you will make her keep still", Scorpius interfered again now and finally put his book aside. Not because he was particularly interested in this topic of conversation, but rather because he had managed to finish reading the book.

"How do you know?" - Skeptically, Albus raised an eyebrow and looked at his friend. He knew, after all, that the knowledge of the Ravenclaws was immense, but this was really very specific, you didn't just know something like that.

"When I discovered the tape, I went to the library to research it. And there I found a book about rare tree species, in it was also listed the whipping willow," the blond explained himself, shrugging his shoulders a moment later.

"So you also think there must be something about it!" - "Great! Now you're confirming his suspicions too," Rose groaned, just shaking her head. But all right, what could she do? She knew exactly that when Albus had set his mind on something, nothing would be able to dissuade him. In that point, he was just like his big brother James. They must have gotten that from their father. Very well. Then Rose would join them. The Potters had a very good sense of such things.

"And have you tried it out? Do you know what's wrong with the ribbon?" asked Albus excitedly at once, his eyes shining with delight. There was nothing the young Gryffindor liked better than uncovering secrets. After all, the apple didn't fall far from the tree.

"No. Why should I" - Scorpius shook his head briefly and then looked to the side, just not in Albus' direction. This, of course, caught his eye immediately and the Potter grinned.

"You didn't dare!" laughed Albus, which made Scorpius blush. Of course, he would never admit that he hadn't had the courage to try it, so he kept quiet. But Albus had immediately realized that he was in the right.

"That's why you didn't become a Gryffindor," Albus added with a grin before dropping the subject and returning his attention to the willow.

"Tomorrow after class we'll go back to the whipping willow and then look into it!" - Determined, Albus nodded and stood up, now heading to his own common room.

02.01.2014


	2. Days gone by

Albus had been nervous all day. He had been sitting on pins and needles in class and was about to say they were going to the Whomping Willow during lunch. But Rose managed to stop him. Albus was relieved when they were finally released from the last lesson and could now set off.

"Come on, a little faster please," Albus already rushed, standing at the classroom door, waiting for Scorpius to finally pack up all his things.

"Just because you can't control yourself anymore doesn't mean I'm going to rush here. So keep it down, Potter" - Uh oh! Albus had probably tugged a little too hard on the Malfoy's nerves, even the Gryffindor understood that now. Because the blond Ravenclaw only called his friend by his last name when he was slowly losing patience. And who would have thought it, that happened to him with Albus often and especially regularly. Of course, this could also be due to the fact that Scorpius was already by nature, not a particularly patient person.

So Albus decided to keep his mouth shut and wait until Malfoy was finally ready. The three of them walked towards the exit and made their way to the whipping willow. As they did so, Albus stifled any further comment about how this was clearly going too slowly for him. Somehow he had the feeling that Scorpius was doing this on purpose now, just to annoy him with it.

And then, finally! Finally they had arrived. They stood with a good distance from the willow, that for now it had no reason to lunge.

"And how do we do that now?" asked Albus, looking very closely at this willow. So first they had to find the right root bulb. Only how would they know which one it was?

"I think we should search through the ground first. Often it's a root bulb sticking out of the ground," Scorpius replied, already starting to look for a root sticking out. While Scorpius and Rose went in one direction, Albus went in the opposite to search the ground around the willow.

"Hey, I think I've got something here!" suddenly exclaimed Rose, pointing to a large root bulb. It was the biggest of all and therefore most likely the right one. Albus came running from the left and searched briefly for the bulb, before he also discovered it.

"Okay, let's try it" - With these words Albus pulled out his magic wand before Scorpius stopped him.

"Let me do it," he said, taking out his wand as well. With a subtle wave of his hand and a "Wingardium Liviosa," he levitated a large stone that almost resembled a rock. He slowly directed it near the willow and held it still in the air. Albus was about to ask what exactly the Malfoy was doing, but immediately a thought dawned on him. He was looking for the right angle to throw the rock. Because here, too, the willow would fight back, so it had to be done quickly. And then it was done. Scorpius made a slight, lunging hand movement and the rock, landed on the root bulb. The willow was about to lash out with its whipping branches when it suddenly stopped in mid-motion.

"You did it!" cheered Albus, falling around Scorpius' neck. The latter was more than caught off guard. After all, he couldn't really do much with that kind of physical contact. It was unusual to be hugged. The only person who did that was his father. Not even his mother could really warm up to such things. Especially not since he had brought such shame on the Malfoy family and had come to Ravenclaw. But somehow it also did him good. It was a closeness that he was rarely allowed to experience in this form.

Still, the blond didn't dare to move. He preferred to stand still and enjoyed the short but intense physical contact. Until Albus let go again.

"Now let's go!" he shouted and ran to the big and thick trunk of the willow. The two Ravenclaws did likewise and ran after him.

Again they circled the tree, this time from close by, looking for features on the ribbon that was still on it. And finally they met again at a point. At this point there was a knot where the ribbon was held together. Reverently, Albus ran his fingertips over the fabric, which turned out to be cotton. Somehow it felt like the scarf that had been part of their school uniform.

"Is that the Gryffindor crest?" asked Rose suddenly, taking one of the ends in her hand, and sure enough. Large on it was the Gryffindor crest, the lion as magnificent and strong as ever.

"And here's the Slytherin crest," Scorpius added, now holding the other end.

"What does that mean?" - It was more a question to himself than to his Ravenclaw friends, but Scorpius had understood him anyway and was willing to answer.

"I don't know, but look at the back of it" - And he did. Rose turned the end over, revealing the letters "HP"

"HP?" he asked himself again, scratching his head somewhat indecisively. This was getting weird.

"DM" - "What?" now Albus was completely confused.

"DM," Scorpius repeated, holding out the back of the end he was holding to the Gryffindor.

"Maybe those are initials," Rose mused, putting on her infamous thinker look. She always looked like that when she was thinking quite hard about something, and she actually pretty much always came up with an answer.

So while Rose was thinking and Scorpius was also looking at the ribbon, Albus couldn't keep his hands off it. So he reached for it, only to have something come to his attention again a short time later.

"It won't come off" - "What do you mean, it won't come off?" asked Scorpius, now also reaching for the ribbon. To test it, he gave it a quick tug and came to the same conclusion.

"It won't come off," he repeated his friend's words and pulled the ribbon again. It seemed to be stuck. But why would anyone tape a ribbon to a tree?

"I think I know what this is," Rose rejoined the conversation, taking a step closer to them.

"That looks a lot like a permanent sticking charm to me"-"Permanent sticking charm? Couldn't it be regular muggle glue? Superglue or universal adhesive, something like that? It seems a bit high-brow to glue a ribbon here for eternity," Albus mused.

"Muggle glue? At Hogwarts?" - Again, Scorpius had that Malfoy look on his face and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Albus considered. In a way, he was right. At most, it could be a normal glue spell.

"It can only be a permanent sticking charm. Think about it. With the rain and thunderstorm that raged here yesterday, it's impossible for this scarf-like ribbon to still be hanging here. Besides, I think it's been hanging here for a few years" - Rose held one of the ends in her hand again. - "Do you see the crests? They're opaque and already slightly faded. That's what happens when sunlight shines long and hard on fabric. It burns and the colors fade"

"A love oath, perhaps?" pondered Scorpius, carefully stroking the Slytherin crest. He seemed very thoughtful. Knowing him as Albus did, he was thinking again about how everything might have gone if he had also ended up in Slytherin like everyone else in his Falimie.

"Depends on how old this ribbon is. The truce between Slytherin and Gryffindor has only been in place for maybe eight years. This one looks a lot older," Rose pointed out.

"And no one noticed it hanging here before?" - Albus thought hard about what the ribbon might be about, but somehow the idea of a love oath seemed most plausible to him as well. Or an attempt to unite Slytherin and Gryffindor in friendship. That would also be another possibility.

"I think someone did notice. But they had the same problem you had in the beginning. How were they going to get it? But maybe no one has had the same interest in finding out as you have. Besides, this place is not very crowded. It is on the edge of the forbidden forest and we are still forbidden to enter it. I think the students prefer to stay by the lake, rather than by the whipping willow, which could lash out at any moment" - That was a plausible explanation Rose had given, Albus could see that. But there was no point in staying here any longer, they had their information now and had to look in other places to find more. Someone must know something about this ribbon, after all.

"I say we go back and see who we can ask about this tape. Someone is probably gonna know something about it" - With that Albus took a step back and started to get enough distance to the willow again. Rose and Scorpius did the same. Then they went around the tree again and Scorpius removed the stone from the root bulb. The willow finished the whipping it had started earlier and then stood still again.

When they arrived back at the Ravenclaws' common room, they sat by the fireplace again, pondering the new information they had gained. What was this all about?

"Maybe we should ask James? He's been here two years longer, after all, and knowing him, he's already done some research, should he have noticed this ribbon before," Rose suggested.

"Exactly! And what about the portraits? They've been here forever and three days too, they should know something," Albus added, jumping up.

"I think we should ask the portrait of the old Headmaster. You know, Dumbledore. The guy knows absolutely everything, from what I've gathered," Scorpius suggested. Yes, that would be one of the most logical things they could do. Dumbledore was a man who knew just about everything. Even they knew that, though Dumbledore had been principal far before their time. What a difference narratives could make.

"Very good idea! I'll be on my way to ask James out, then. I'm sure he's in the common room. Meet me in front of the principal's office in an hour? Then we can still decide whether to ask the other portraits first or Dumbledore right away" - Rose nodded confirming and Scorpius joined her opinion with a silence. And then Albus had already disappeared from the common room.

He quickly ran to the Gryffindors' common room, gave the password and waited impatiently until the fat lady could finally bring herself to open the door. It was an act with her every time, almost bringing Albus to the edge of his temper. This woman really needed company!

"James?" he called across the room right away, without really looking around first, and just hoped that James would answer. Which he did.

He raised his hand and waved conspicuously so that Albus couldn't miss him at all. He was sitting at a small table with his friends, where they were once again playing wizard chess. James seemed to be losing once again.

"Losing again?", Albus couldn't help but chuckle suppressedly.

"Haha," James retorted less enthusiastically - "Still, I'd win against you all once," the older Potter countered and made his move. Grumbling, he looked at the board. He was really losing right now. Again.

"What do you want Albus?" - Now James turned to his brother and looked at him, waiting. It was immediately clear to him that the younger boy wanted something from him. It was always like this. His little brother always wanted something. 

"Have you had a closer look at the whipping willow?" asked Albus straight out, then, and he could see his brother's expression take on a look of unknowledge.

"No, why? Is there something there?" so James asked the counter question. Now he was curious, he knew Albus. If it didn't mean anything, he wouldn't have asked him. So there had to be something about it.

"Checkmate!" suddenly shouted the boy James had been playing against, grinning smugly.

"Well just you wait Finnigan! I'll beat you next time!" vowed James, raising his fist threateningly. But the red-haired boy could only laugh at that. Probably because he knew as well as anyone how lousy James was at wizard chess and would never beat him.

"James, there's a ribbon wrapped around the tree. We took a closer look at it and found the Gryffindor crest as well as the Slytherin crest on it. Also, letters that must have been embroidered into the fabric as initials," Albus brought his brother back to their current topic and immediately had James' attention again. They had stood up and moved away from the group a bit to be able to talk undisturbed.

"So, do you know anyone with the initials HP?" he continued to ask, immediately recognizing in James' expression that he had an idea.

"Well, Harry Potter. HP are father's initials. And father was in Gryffindor" - With full force, Albus slapped his own forehead. Why hadn't he thought of that, then? He was such a dork!

"And DM?" - Albus didn't want to dwell on the fact that he hadn't thought of his own father when he thought of the initials. After all, it was Harry Potter! Still, they'd have to check. They could just as easily be wrong about that.

"I don't know. But if it really has something to do with father, then it will probably be someone who was at school at the same time as him. I couldn't explain it any other way" - "Okay, thanks. I'll check it out then" - Albus was about to leave when James stopped him again.

"Hey, if you need help with anything, let me know. I've been itching to find out what Dad did in his school days" - James laughed and went back to his friends. Albus believed him immediately. James liked nothing better than to rub their father's nose in the fact that he had also committed his sins as a student.

Albus just raised his hand in farewell and made his way to the principal's office. He still had plenty of time, but he firmly expected that his friends would also be there far too early.

"Hey Albus, were you able to find out anything?", Rose greeted him right when they arrived after ten minutes of waiting.

"No, not really. James had never noticed this ribbon before, yet he had had an idea. The initials HP could stand for my father," Albus explained, and instantly something changed in Scorpius' mine that he didn't really know how to classify.

"That makes sense. But if it really is a love oath, then it can't be Aunt Ginny," Rose reasoned aloud, taking her chin between her thumb and forefinger.

"Draco Malfoy"-"What?"-Syncron had turned Rose and Albus to Scorpius, who had simply thrown those two words into the room.

"My father has the initials DM. Also, they were students at Hogwarts at the same time. Your father was a Gryffindor and mine was a Slytherin," Scorpius explained himself.

"All right, if that's really true, then we can rule out a love oath right away" - It all seemed very plausible to Albus, now they just had to figure out what it was hanging there for.

"Why is that?" asked Rose right after, tilting her head.

"Well, because our fathers aren't gay? I can't imagine my father ever having anything with a man. Besides, he always insists that mother has been the only woman for him"-"Like you said, Albus. The only woman. I can't imagine Uncle Harry having anything with a man either, yet we can't rule it out" - Rose was right. As unlikely as it sounded, they had to keep all their options open for now.

"Then I suppose it would be most advisable if we went straight to Dumbledore. After all, he knows best about Harry Potter and his school days," Scorpius, who had been quietly watching his friends' exchange of words, spoke up again after a long time. It was strange for him to think that his father had something to do with Harry Potter, but he couldn't really rule it out. After all, he knew how unhappy his father was with his mother. And maybe that was because his heart was already set on someone else? Maybe even to Harry Potter? Who really knew?

"You're right. Let's go knock, then" - No sooner said than done. Albus knocked on the massive, gold-trimmed door and waited for it to burst open. He had never been in the Headmaster's office before, so he was all the more amazed when the door slid aside to reveal a large spiral staircase. Hesitantly, Albus looked at his friends, who nodded affirmatively. The three of them climbed the first steps, when the spiral staircase suddenly started moving by itself. With great difficulty, the three students managed not to topple over and arrived safely at the principal's office.

"Can I help you in any way?" they heard the voice of an old lady, who was dressed in a black robe and was now looking down at them with her head tilted.

"Professor McGonagall, we'd like to see Professor Dumbledore," Rose answered immediately, since neither Scorpius nor Albus seemed able to do so. With open mouths, the two looked at the huge and crowded office. Insane, they both shot through their heads.

"May I ask what you want from him?" the principal asked, already walking towards the portrait of the former principal.

"It's about my father and the whipping willow," Albus now joined the conversation again as well, following Rose, who in turn had followed McGonagall.

"The whipping willow? I don't know what your father would have to do with that tree" - "Oh Minerva, let them come to me already. He's a Potter, he'll have his reasons" - Minerva just nodded and stepped aside to allow the children to see the talking portrait.

"Hello Albus," the old man greeted him and gave them a warm smile. Did it just seem that way to Albus, or had he just put extra emphasis on his first name?

"A very nice name indeed, you have there," the former principal laughed, seeming genuinely amused by it.

"I- I was named after you" - "I know. Minerva had already informed me sufficiently about that. And who would have thought it. A Potter, befriended with a Malfoy. That I may still experience this" - Dumbledore still wore that warm and hearty smile on his lips and looked at the three young wizards in front of him.

"You really do look like your parents. All three of you, you take after your fathers. Especially Rose. I never thought a female edition of Mr. Weasley could be so adorable" - Flattered, Rose turned away briefly. Her cheeks took on a delicate shade of red and she smiled tentatively to herself.

"Professor, do you know anything, about the ribbon on the whipping willow?" - Slowly, this was getting too tiring for Scorpius. They were here to get information, and he would finally like it.

"A ribbon? What ribbon?" - "It's a scarf of some sort. With the Gryffindor and Slytherin house colors. It also has the initials HP and DM embroidered on it. We think it might be our father," Albus explained, nervousness returning to his body. Soon, perhaps, he would learn what it was all about. In a moment, he had solved a great mystery. - But Dumbledore only laughed.

"You guys are really smart. But I wouldn't have expected anything else. Unfortunately, I can't tell you anything about it. What might help you, however, would be Mr. Potter's secret Pensieve."-"The secret Pensieve?" asked Rose, not quite sure if she had the definition of a Pensieve right in her head. After all, how would Uncle Harry hide a Pensieve at Hogwarts? Or was it at his house? No, that would have been noticed, after all. And as the word 'secret' implied, no one seemed to know about it, except Dumbledore, for some reason.

"Yes, I suppose he does own one. Back in his school days, he had asked me all sorts of things about Pensieves. Even the things you really only needed to know if you were planning on getting one. Where he hides it and whether he owns it, I don't know. Maybe you should take a look around the Room of Requirement. There are a lot of secrets hidden there."

"Thank you Professor" - Albus was grateful for the tip Dumbledore had given them and was about to set off to find the Room of Requirement as well.

"Good luck," was all Dumbledore said and the three students made their way back outside.

"How quickly they grow up," Dumbledore smiled to himself and continued to watch the children for some time.

"Yes, and how times have changed after all. Young Malfoy has come to Ravenclaw," Minerva replied with a certain hint of nostalgia in her voice.

"That's what I thought. He does look a lot like his father, but you can see that they couldn't be more different. He is like his father could never be."


	3. Hidden memories

"Okay, I'll quickly get the Marauder's Map and then we'll go to the Room of Requirement. There we'll find the Pensieve and the mystery will be solved!" - Rose shook her head at how simple Albus thought the whole thing was. It was actually really cute how naive he was.

"Albus, do you even know what the Room of Requirement is anyway?" so Rose asked him, having to stifle a laugh. Of course he didn't know, or he wouldn't be imagining it so easily.

"Uh- A room?" - Now it was Scorpius' turn to laugh at that. But quickly he put his hand over his mouth and tried to suppress it. After all, it wasn't fair. After all, he himself didn't know what the Room of Requirement was either, yet it was just hilarious how lost Albus looked and how obviously he had no idea.

"The Room of Requirement is not on the Marauder's Map. It is also called 'Come and go room'. It only appears when it is really needed. You have to conjure it up with your mind, in a way, and then wish for a room. And here is the problem. If Uncle Harry has thought up a special room, we have to find out what the 'password' is. Otherwise we will never get into this room" - Rose was more than happy that her mother had already informed her about this room in the first year of school. Hermione had told her daughter all about it, in case she needed some quiet time to study. Since Hermione could remember all too well her own school days and had used the Room of Requirement for the same purposes. And she knew that Rose was second to her in her eagerness to learn, which made her very happy!

"Well great! And how are we supposed to do that? I can hardly ask my father about it," Albus groaned in resignation. This was all getting way too complicated!

"Maybe it's not as hard as we think. I mean, why hide a Pensieve, in a school, if you don't want anyone to find it? If they really are such secret memories, surely I'm not going to allow them to be discovered in any way. Unless they were recorded for posterity," Scorpius came up with the idea, and he wasn't wrong at all. Hiding a Pensieve like that in a school was already quite risky, so maybe there was the possibility that it was meant to be found on purpose.

"Then, for now, we should just wish for the Room of Requirement. Usually, a room with all the lost or hidden things will appear. We should search that first" - Without saying anything, the two boys agreed with their friend and immediately set about finding the Room of Requirement. It wasn't particularly difficult, after all, Rose had been there a few times before and knew where and, more importantly, how to find it.

"So, that would be it. The room is pretty huge, so we'd better split up. You know what a Pensieve looks like?" - "We're not stupid, after all" - Scorpius looked at his housemate with a grin that carried a slight hint of arrogance. Rose grinned back in the same way. After three years, they had just picked up a thing or two.

They split up and searched the entire room for the Pensieve. Hours seemed to pass, during which they found nothing except some bits and pieces of junk and dusty furniture. Just when they had almost given up hope, Albus came across their sought-after object of desire.

"Guys! I found it!" he shouted immediately, and alarmed, the Ravenclaws ran to him. And indeed, Albus had found his father's Pensieve. At least, they suspected that it belonged to his father, who else could it belong to?

Briefly, they examined the large, shallow stone bowl, and Scorpius promptly found the hidden compartment embedded in the stone bowl's base. Inside were memories.

"They're not labeled. I'll just take any," Scorpius said, grabbing the nearest best vial from the cabinet.

"You guys ready?" he asked again before taking a breath and looking his friends in the eye. He received only an affirmative nod and poured the silvery viscous liquid into the bowl. It was just about the right size for all their heads to fit in, so they could experience the memory together. They looked at each other only briefly and then simultaneously put their faces into the liquid.

// They were in the corridors of Hogwarts. Everything was gray and the school seemed empty. Then, however, they could see young Draco Malfoy turning the corner. He was maybe 16 in this memory possibly 17, they couldn't tell for sure. But Scorpius was struck by how similar he really looked to his father. Actually, confusingly similar.

So Draco Malfoy turned the corner and stopped instantly when he spotted two people down the hall. It was none other than Harry Potter, standing there by Ginny Weasley, pressed against the wall. They were kissing and Harry seemed to be enjoying it. Which was more than could be said for Malfoy. His stomach churned with disgust and he immediately turned on his heel. He didn't realize that Harry had already caught sight of him and, with a lousy apology, left Ginny to follow Draco.

The latter was just about to leave in a furious rage. He felt such unbridled rage inside him that his hands, clenched into fists, were already shaking. How could he be so stupid? How could he have gotten involved in something so stupid?

Full of rage and shame, he stopped and knew nothing more to do with himself. That was simply too much! Now it was enough for him finally! With all the strength he had, he hit with his fist against the stone wall. That he could break some fingers, he did not pay attention to this rash act. He just wanted to get rid of his frustration and not feel like a betrayed idiot anymore.

"Malfoy!" he suddenly heard a voice behind him. A voice he would recognize among thousands. But without looking at the caller, he kept walking. He paid no attention to him and merely tried to disappear as quickly as possible.

"Malfoy, stop!" - He wouldn't give up. He just had to explain it to him!

"Please Draco, stop!" he shouted repeatedly, hoping that the man he was addressing would finally respond, which he finally did. Full of rage, he turned around. Anger at himself, anger at his stupidity, at his naivety, but most of all with anger at Harry Potter and his impudence in still calling him by his first name after all this!

"What do you want, Potter?" he asked angrily, feeling at the same time like a nagging fury. How could he let that blasted Gryffindor hurt him like that!

"Draco please, it's not what you think. Let me explain!" - "Save your fucking excuses! I just don't want to hear them anymore! I've had enough of you and your filthy lies once and for all! You do it every fucking time! You just can't keep your hands off her! Again and again you have to kiss her in front of my eyes, although you promised me not to! But you seem to be just playing! The hero of the Wizarding World can afford it, after all! Get back to your Weasley rat and lay her, I don't care, just leave me alone already!" - Draco had never yelled at him like that before, and Harry was almost afraid that someone might hear them, but luckily today was the first day of summer vacation and most, or rather just about everyone, was already at the track to board the Hogwarts Express. So they had to be the only ones here. Which didn't save him from being put down like that by the blond Slytherin.

"I can understand your anger, but will you stop talking about Ginny like that? It's not her fault!", Harry defended the red-haired girl, not knowing that he had made probably the biggest mistake he could have made. Malfoy looked him in the eye, even more hurt, and that was exactly the moment when the otherwise so controlled Malfoy, finally lost his patience.

Without thinking about it, he took out his fist and tried to hit the Gryffindor with all the force he could muster. But Harry fortunately had good reflexes and was just able to stop his rival's fist. With surprise he could see bloody spots on his knuckles and his ring finger was already purple. It had to be from hitting the wall.

"Just get out of here! I don't need you fucking Samaritan! It's over for good, Potter!" - Draco pronounced his name with such disdain as Harry had never heard before. And that was the sign for him to have lost. He couldn't calm Malfoy down, no matter what he might say. He had simply done too much wrong already for that. So he let go of his hand and looked at him silently. Tears formed in his green eyes, on the verge of bursting out. Draco was much more controlled. He just looked at the Gryffindor coldly, as he always did, and turned to leave. But as soon as his back was turned to the black-haired man, his eyes filled with tears as well. That didn't stop him from rushing away quickly, though. //

The three students, emerged from the bowl again and looked at each other. They were silent, trying to really comprehend what they had just seen.

"So there are memories of my father in this Pensieve as well," Scorpius was the first to break the silence, leaning heavily on the edge of the bowl. He didn't dare look at his friends again, preferring instead to stare into the silvery liquid moving merrily along in the bowl.

"What makes you think this memory is from your father?" - Unlike Scorpius, Albus had no problem looking him in the eye. So he purposely looked for eye contact and finally found it when Scorpius squinted briefly in his direction.

"In a Pensieve, you can follow what is happening as an objective observer, but you always accompany the person from whom the memory came. If this memory were from your father, we wouldn't have seen my father hurt his hand on the wall." - How he hurt his hand on the wall was still a very nice euphemism for what they had seen. Rose was sure that she had never seen anyone hit a stone wall so hard, and it definitely took a lot of emotion to unthinkingly and with such force expose his hand to such damage. Because she was sure that the purple swollen ring finger was definitely broken.

"Let's look at another memory," was all Albus had to say about it. He couldn't wait to learn more about his father and his relationship with Draco Malfoy. This thing was getting more and more twisted and by now he wondered if his father was really happy with his mother. He had never seen even a hint of doubt in his eyes when Harry Potter looked at his wife. Albus had always been under the impression that his parents had a picture-perfect marriage. But slowly, his entire worldview began to falter.

Without Albus really noticing, Scorpius pulled out his wand and moved the memory from the bowl back into the vial. Only to put it back and take a new one from the cupboard right after.

"Scorpius, take one of the last ones. If they're not labeled, maybe they're arranged by date. The first one pretty much came from the middle. So the ones from the end would have to be the last memories stored in the Pensieve. Maybe the ribbon on the willow was a goodbye of sorts."- The blond Ravenclaw merely nodded, not really listening, and did as Rose told him. He took the last memory from the cupboard and poured it into the bowl.

"Hopefully this one has something to do with the tree. Because if not, I guess we'll just have to look at all the memories until we find something," Rose said, reminding the boys again what they were here for in the first place. They wanted to find out what the tape around the whomping willow was all about. But slowly they felt that they were losing sight of their goal. So many new chasms had opened up that they were no longer sure what to think of their own fathers, their families. Had it all been a lie? Could it really be that their fathers felt so much for each other and no one had ever noticed? Why? Why weren't they together if they seemed to love each other? Or had once done so?

// It was a light windy day and some gray clouds crept lazily across the dark sky. The wind blew scattered leaves from the trees and made the grass sway gently back and forth. The three students immediately recognized the place they were in. It was the whomping willow, stretching tall before them and hiding beneath its whips, two people.

"Are you ready?" asked the black-haired Gryffindor, who held his wand in his hand, waiting. The blond sitting in the grass in front of him just grinned smugly.

"What do you think, Potter?" was enough for Harry to answer, and he received his wand towards the ground, pointing it at an indefinable pile of cloth. The Gryffindor muttered something to himself, which was not even understandable to the blond man in front of him, who was sitting quite close to Harry after all. But what else had he expected? It was Harry Potter, after all. When it came to spells, he handled them as neatly as he handled his hair.

When the spell was cast, the pile of cloth began to move, revealing the ribbon that the unseen spectators had been able to make out earlier on the whomping willow.

On its own, the ribbon tied itself around the tree and then ended in a knot.

"Sure you don't need your scarf anymore, Draco?" asked Harry after their work was completed, smiling gently.

"It's too late now anyway. Besides, I don't think I'll be able to use it in the war."- With these words, a depressing silence fell over them, preventing the previously exuberant mood from continuing.

"You know I love you, don't you?" asked Harry after a while, looking into Draco's eyes. Into those stormy gray eyes that almost took his breath away and made the world stop for a brief moment. Just for a moment, there was no war, there was nothing around them.

"For all eternity," Draco confirmed to his boyfriend, daring to stroke his cheek gently.

"And as a sign of that eternity, this ribbon will hang here. As long as this ribbon remains, you can be sure that my feelings for you will never change." - And with these words, Draco placed a permanent sticking charm over the ribbon. Now this ribbon can never be taken from the willow. For all eternity it will be here and be a symbol of their feelings, their love.

"The war is comming. When the new school year begins I won't be here anymore," Draco continued to speak, simply unable to refrain from touching the tender skin of his counterpart again and again.

"I know. I just hope we both survive this" - "We will ... Trust me, we will" - Draco kissed Harry on the lips. Gently and shyly. That was the last time they saw each other. The last thing they did and it was the last thing the three young students saw before the memory blurred. //

"So it's true. They loved each other," was the first thing Rose said when they emerged from the Pensieve again. But it was also the only thing that was said, as neither boy dared to say anything. They were much too absorbed by the information they had just received. It was all more than confusing. They had just learned that their fathers had been a couple in their school days. Why weren't they now? That seemed to be the next big mystery for Albus.

"It's late, we should get back. Besides, I have homework to do for Muggle Studies," Scorpius said, and it was quite obvious to him that he needed time to process this now. He just wanted to get out of this room and away from this Pensieve, away from his father's memories.

Fortunately for him, neither Rose nor Albus objected. Therefore, Albus quickly let the memory disappear back into the vial, put it back in the cupboard, and walked out of the room with the other two. From there, they wordlessly parted ways. Or much more, Scorpius' way. Rose and Albus said their goodbyes and then disappeared into their houses.

~*~

Albus had been lying awake in his bed for hours, thinking about what he had learned today in the Room of Requirement. He just didn't know whether to find it horrible or just sad. On the one hand, he never thought his father would have anything to do with a man, let alone a Slytherin. On the other hand, it almost broke his heart. Because what had to happen, that two people who seemed to love each other so much went their separate ways. Something must have happened, something serious. Albus just had to find out. He needed to know what had happened to his father, that he was now living a life he probably hadn't planned on living.

But he wouldn't do that today. Nor tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. For now, he needed to get away from this, to calm down and get a clear head before he plunged into this tangle of feelings again. And now he tried to sleep, like the hours before. Unfortunately in vain.


End file.
